School board President Isela Castañon-Williams said Williams acted on incomplete information.

"I am disappointed with Commissioner Williams' decision, particularly after the board worked diligently to implement all of TEA's mandates and has taken measurable steps to address the very serious failures that occurred during Dr. (Lorenzo) García's administration," she said.

Trustee David Dodge, who has been on the school board for nine years, was less critical of Williams.

"I know from his personal remarks at the news conference that this was not an easy decision for Commissioner Williams, and I believe with all my heart that, like me and my fellow trustees, Commissioner Williams wants what is best for EPISD students and employees."

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Dodge said he would work to the best of his ability in helping with the transition from the elected school board to the appointed five-member board of managers.

Other trustees did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Current employees of the district said they supported Williams' decision to remove the school board.

Patricia Bulos, an English language arts teacher at MacArthur Elementary-Intermediate School, said it was "sad" that the state needed to step in to remove the school board, but it was necessary.

"It's a step forward in making sure that we start anew and the public is back to trusting and rebuilding EPISD," Bulos said. "I believe (Williams) had to do this for us to move forward. We needed a clean slate and just to start over again with the district's leadership."

Gilbert Medina, a social studies teacher at Bowie High School, which appears to have been the epicenter of administrators' efforts to remove students from school or place them in the wrong grade to cheat federal accountability standards, said, "It's about time" the Texas Education Agency took a drastic measure against the district.

Medina said the school board has failed at removing convicted former Superintendent Lorenzo García's accomplices still working at the district.

"They should have gone after anyone who committed wrongdoing," Medina said. "They've taken some action, but it hasn't been enough because those individuals who've done wrong are still in a position of power at central office."

City Rep. Susie Byrd, who was an outspoken member of the general-purpose political action committee Kids First! Reform EPISD!, said she was relieved that more competent leaders would be representing the district once the U.S. Department of Justice approves Williams' appointments to the board of managers.

That board would comprise Carmen Arrieta-Candelaria, the city of El Paso's chief financial officer; Ed Archuleta, the retiring president and CEO of the El Paso Water Utilities Public Service Board; outgoing state Rep. Dee Margo; the school district's state monitor, Judy Castleberry; and a fifth member yet to be selected.

"People were increasingly anxious about the fact the school board was doing nothing in light of the cheating scandal," Byrd said. "So little was done to root out the culprits, to fix the organization. É They have taken action only recently because TEA said, 'You better do something or else.' They've spent a good year being deaf to the fact they have a real responsibility to make right what was wrong."

Leaders of the school district's largest employee unions, however, were hesitant to say the elected school board should have been removed.

Norma De La Rosa, president of the El Paso Teachers Association, said she couldn't say whether it was necessary to replace the school board with a board of managers.

"All I can say is, in listening and talking to community members across the district, the trust was not there," De La Rosa said. "You heard a lot of that mistrust when people spoke at school board meetings."

Lucy Clarke, president of the El Paso Federation of Teachers and Support Personnel, criticized Williams' removal of the school board.

Clarke said voters in the coming school board elections in May should have decided whether to boot three trustees up for re-election.

The school board elections will still take place in May, but the board of managers is likely to be in place by that time, rendering any new trustees ineffective, Clarke said.

"He has said to the people of El Paso, who were truly anticipating the upcoming school board elections, that their vote doesn't count in a sense because of this additional level of governance," Clarke said. "They can stay in place for up to two years."

Like De La Rosa, Clarke said she has a difficult time answering whether the school board needed to be removed.

"My focus is the teacher and support employees of the district," Clarke said. "In talking to my members, they were all over the spectrum, from members saying, 'I can't wait till (the trustees) are gone,' to saying, 'Give them a chance to straighten it out.' There was not a definite consensus, I felt, one way or the other."

Hayley Kappes may be reached at hkappes@elpasotimes.com; 546-6168. Follow her on Twitter @hayleykappes